Which third-party candidates are running for president in 2024?
After President Joe Biden announced he was dropping out of the presidential election and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, a November faceoff between former President Donald Trump and Harris is almost solidified.
While the candidates for the two major parties are nearly locked in, a slate of third-party candidates, including independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Green Party member Jill Stein, and Libertarian Chase Oliver, is still holding on.
At the beginning of the election, nearly two dozen candidates started out in the race, but seven remain. Here are the third-party candidates running to take the White House.
More: Election live updates: Harris to make first campaign stop in battleground state
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the independent presidential candidate launched his campaign for the Democratic nomination in April 2023. He later dropped his Democratic bid in October and re-entered the race as an independent, calling the traditional two-party system “rigged” for Americans.
Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy is still in the process of getting on the ballot in multiple states as an independent candidate. In 2021, Kennedy was a prominent spreader of medical falsehoods and conspiracies about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Jill Stein
Physician and environmental activist Jill Stein is not new to the presidential ballot. She ran for the White House as a member of the Green Party in both 2012 and 2016. Stein, 73, announced in November 2023 that she will be seeking the party's nomination for a third time in the 2024 election.
Stein, who has called for abolishing student and medical debt, received criticism from Democrats who argued that she took votes from former Secretary of State and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election after she garnered more votes than the margin of Trump's victory in three swing states.
Cornell West
Cornell West, 71, launched his presidential campaign in June 2023 under the People's Party, but he has since announced he is running as an independent.
West is a philosopher, activist, and author who has taught at Harvard University, Yale University, Union Theological Seminary, and other institutions. He has promised to end poverty and guarantee housing and has been a vocal critic of Israel for its part in the Israel-Hamas war.
Chase Oliver
Chase Oliver, 38, is running under the Libertarian Party as the youngest presidential candidate vying for the White House in 2024.
Oliver, an openly gay anti-war activist, unsuccessfully ran in the 2020 special election for Georgia's 5th Congressional District and ran in a tight race for U.S. Senate in 2022. He clinched the Libertarian Party nomination over RFK Jr. and Trump.
Marianne Williamson
Marianne Williamson, 71, launched her White House bid in March 2023 after unsuccessfully running for president in 2020. Williamson, a self-help author and Oprah’s former spiritual leader, co-founded the Peace Alliance in 2004, which aims to “mobilize people into action to transform systems and public policy toward a culture of peace.”
Williamson is technically still running, but she hasn't secured any delegates in state primaries and will likely not receive the Democratic nomination in August
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who are the third-party candidates still running for president?
